THE TELEGRAPH: A British couple working as Christian missionaries in Gambia have been jailed for one year with hard labour for sending emails that were critical of the Muslim state.
David Fulton, 60, a former Army major, and his wife, Fiona, 46, pleaded guilty to making seditious comments "with intent to bring hatred or contempt against the president or the government".
Their sentence, in a country which has one of west Africa's worst human rights records, sparked concern after reports that other prisoners on similar charges have been poisoned while in jail.
The couple, originally from Torquay in Devon, have spent 12 years in Gambia. They were arrested on 29 November at their home at Kerr Sering, an hour's drive from the capital through tropical bush, and accused of spreading "hatred against the government" via a series of round-robin emails believed to relate to their missionary work.
Friends said that they were not given details of what exactly they were accused of until appearing in court.
They were sentenced in the capital, Banjul, and will be held at one of Africa's toughest jails, the former colonial penal institute of Mile Two Prison. They were also fined 250,000 Dalasis (£6,500). >>> By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent | Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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